Near's Birthday Gift
by theartsofseduction
Summary: Near has been hoping to get a gift from Mello for his birthday for years. Now he is sent on a "mission" and hopes to find a gift in the end. Mello x Near fluff


Turning seventeen usually doesn't thrill someone. It's not too big of a celebration. Seventeen doesn't quite make you legal, nor does it make you a child. Most people by this age didn't favor having parties or even getting presents. It was just a stage of growing up. Or that's what most people called it.

August 24th, Near's seventeenth birthday. The usually timid albino child hardly had friends. One female in particular who went by the name of Linda was usually the only one to present him with a gift on his birthday every year other than Watari, L, and Roger. Sometimes when he had a stroke of kindness towards the younger male, Matt would throw in something. Mello seldom even paid any mind to the white-haired boy.

This year seemed to be different however. Near was getting older and more respectable as a person. Although he still defeated Mello, which pissed him off to the core, he couldn't just stand by this year and let everyone else up show him in the one thing he could probably beat everyone's ass in.

Usually people would get Near a small gift to show that they cared about him and that they were thinking about him on his special day. Near had always hoped to get a gift from Mello and that would be all that he ever actually wanted for his birthday. But when he never got anything, Near often brushed it off and appeared undefeated.

"Fuck that. This year I'll do something so god damn impressive that it'll even blow L on his ass."

For the first time in his life, Mello even wanted to beat L in a competition. He considered this to be a near impossible task, but if he tried hard enough he could manage.

Mello sat in his room thinking of what to get the white-haired achiever when his door was knocked upon. Today was the day before Near's birthday, so he had expected to get the usual "Think for someone other than yourself and try to get along with him" lecture.

"Don't bother coming in and telling me the same shit I hear every god damn year," he mumbled.

However when the door swung open it wasn't Watari or Roger, the two men he had expected, but it was Matt. His long time best friend he had known since arriving at Wammy's Orphanage at the age of three. He crossed his arms and stared at the gamer as he slumped back and lay against his bed.

"What?"

"Well, it's not going to be 'The same shit you hear every year,' but I guess it's close. Are you actually going to get Near something for your birthday?"

"Maybe. What's it to you?"

Matt shrugged as he took a seat beside Mello. The more he spent time with the blond, the more curious he got about him. Mello seemed so indifferent towards Near, but when alone and unaware to anyone's presence other than Near, Mello showed a completely different concept in his expression.

Sure Matt had seen it, but he couldn't interpret what it meant or what the hell was going on in his head. Mello seemed so vacant and out in his own world as he looked at the kid playing with his puzzle with an expression of such confusion that it completely screwed up Matt's whole impression of what he thought Mello felt towards Near.

"I'm just asking. Are you?"

"Yes. But I'm not about to tell you what."

"Not even a cheat? A hint?"

Mello rolled his eyes at his best friend. For some reason he liked to relate things to video games even when they had nothing to do with the topic of conversation. He pulled out a chocolate bar and bit down on it.

"Think epic."

"Epic… Right. Coming from you, that's… pretty scarring."

"You don't even know what it is."

"And that would be what scares me."

August 24th, 2008-- 9:15AM. Near had just woken up from sleep. He realized what today was, but hoped the same as every other birthday.

_Will Mello present me with something this year…?_

Near felt that he would discover that once again Mello was nonchalant about his day of birth. Despite the fact that Mello could care less about Near's birthday, Near always seemed to show him that he cared about Mello's birthday. Every year on Mello's birthday, December 13th, he would give Mello a gift.

He would see Mello using it every once in a while too.

Near buttoned his white shirt, incorrectly at that, after he got out of bed. His hair was in disarray, but he felt that it didn't matter as much as his clothing. He pulled up his stark white bottoms to match his blindingly white shirt. He released a noiseless sigh and opened the door.

When he did, Near was slightly surprised to see a small sticky note on a Rubik's Cube sitting in front of his door; untouched by anyone.

He lifted the small yellow sticky note and read as best as he could of the messy handwriting:

_Near,_

_Instead of giving you some lame ass gift like everyone else probably will, I'm gonna kick up a notch so get your ass in gear. You're a year older, so I'm putting more shit on you. Follow the clues on these sticky notes and you'll get your gift. If you don't, then I win._

_-Mello_

The albino boy blinked as he held the small piece of paper in his palm. It was like chicken scratch, but he had managed to decipher it regardless. He sighed and placed it inside of his shirt, letting it rest gently against the fabric.

On the same Rubik's Cube read another sticky note only this one had clue number one on it:

_To get your gift you need to go through all seven clues. Clue number one has to do with you. You wear white, that's pretty damn obvious. So go to another place with a lot of white other than your room. Because it's not like I'd manage to go--_

There was a lack of space on the sticky note, and that was what cut Mello's note short. Near tucked it away with the other one as he held the Rubik's Cube in his palm. He walked back into his room and gingerly placed it on his bed.

When he walked through the halls, he ran a list of white rooms in his mind. The only other rooms that were almost completely white at Wammy's were the bathroom or the kitchen. Would Mello have put clue number two in the bathroom?

He decided to try there first.

Near looked around the bathroom. There were only about thirty children at Wammy's, and only three of them had managed to become L's potential successor. The bathrooms were moderately clean and "pearly" white despite the fact that it was used by over two dozen children each day.

He looked in the shower and found no note. It was almost too obvious that a note wouldn't be found in there. It would have washed away with the first shower of the day. He turned and checked the toilet area and found nothing. Again, it was unsanitary to stick your hands anywhere close to the toilet unless you were using it or flushing it. Near didn't think that Mello would put a note there, but he could have been wrong.

He looked inside the cupboard that held multiple different toothbrushes and a variety of toothpaste brands. He sighed and shook his head.

"Mello…" he whispered to himself. "Where have you put this second clue?"

After thinking this over for a bit, Near leaned in and found it cleverly placed underneath the mirror that hung above the sink. He blinked and read it.

_Near,_

_Congratulations. You found the second clue. The third one is gonna take you to the lion's den. The room where sex on legs makes the most of the business made._

The albino blinked in thought.

"Mello's room…" he thought with his trademark smirk.

He placed the note with its brothers as he walked from the bathroom onward to Mello's bedroom. The birthday boy was slightly surprised that Mello would even allow Near into his room. And he was actually 99.9 sure that the self-proclaimed "sex on legs" was a virgin.

When he stepped into the lair of the blond dragon, he half expected some kind of trap to be set to condemn whoever entered his room to a small, constricted space. However, when that didn't happen, Near relaxed and began to search the foreign territory.

He lifted pillows, and blankets and various other things. He opened boxes and found nothing of interest. When Near began to sift through Mello's drawers, he found himself oddly interested. He lifted up a pair of black boxers that he assumed belonged to Mello himself.

When the albino tossed a glance over his shoulder, he pushed that into his shirt as well. He would walk back to his room and keep it there before going on to search for the next clue.

"He has many pairs of boxers… He won't honestly miss one pair… It must be insignificant."

Near smirked to himself at the thought of keeping one of Mello's pair of boxers to himself. They felt soft to the touch against his pale skin.

"Silk…" he muttered.

It took only another minute to finally find the third clue. He had found it stowed away in Mello's hair products. He smiled as he read it and left to his room to drop off the pair of boxers.

It took Near about another twenty five minutes to get through three more clues. The final one had directed Near to, "Go to the kitchen for something sweet. Don't take too long because I'll get sick of waiting here."

Near, being increasingly curious, made his way to the kitchen. He stood in front of the restaurant-esque doors and took in a breath as he readied himself to receive his birthday present…

At first when he pushed through the doors he expected something lavished and elaborate. When nothing greeted his eyes, Near felt his heart and stomach drop. Mello must have gotten sick, tired, and frustrated with waiting for Near. It was understandable; he must have been in there for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

For the first time in recorded history, Near showed utter disappointment on his face. He really had expected something exceptionally magnificent from Mello. Something that would have taken his breath away, only to be presented with absolutely nothing.

"Again, Mello ceases to surprise me."

_Tap, tap_. Near jumped slightly at the feel of someone's fingers brushing his shoulder slightly. He now noticed that his shirt had slipped off of his shoulder just a bit, revealing pale, and untouched, skin.

"Turn around will you?"

Near did just as he was instructed when he blinked. Without a second thought, an overly large grin appeared on Near's face as he took in Mello's appearance. The blond stood before him in a teddy bear suit with a red bow tied around his neck and a tag coming off it that read, "To Near". He had his arms crossed and an agitated expression on his face.

"Mello!" Near exclaimed in exasperation. "You did this all for me?"

"Yeah, yeah…" he mumbled. "Happy birthday Near…"

"Thank you Mero…"

The albino smiled and wrapped his arms around Mello's midsection as he snuggled his cheek against Mello's fluffy, yellow "fur." Mello released a somewhat satisfied sigh and put his own arms around Near in a hug as well.

"Now don't ever tell me I didn't do anything for your birthday."


End file.
